Locomotive firing equipment



Sept. 10, 1929. J, L MOHUN 1,72 7,934

LOCOMOTIVE FIRING EQUIPMENT Filed June 21. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 `SPt 10 1929* J. L., MoHuN 1,727,934.

LoconoTIvE Flame EQUIPMENT Filed June 21. 1921 2 Sheng-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES JOHN L. MOHUN, F OMAHA, NEBRASKA,

ASSIGNOR TO FRANKLIN RAILWAY SUP- FLY COMPANY', A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

LOCOMOTIVE FIRING EQUIPMENT.

Application led June 21,

My invention relates to locomotive firing equipment, and is especially concerned wlth apparatus for automatically stoking steam locomotives and shaking their grates. I aim to correlate these closely related ring operations in such a way that they can both be carried out effectively and eiiciently by simple and unitary apparatus. I also aim to provide for (or permit) such relatively independent, flexible regulation ofthese operations that each can be performed according to the requirements of the locomotive under the most widely varied operating conditions,-yet still in due correlation with the other. A further advantage of my invention is its ready adaptability to types of stoking and grate-shaking apparatus which are now very widely used, with but little alteration of the more important parts of such apparatus, so that the invention canbe applied to a great many locomotives now in service quite easily and expeditiously, with little loss of time from service and at 'relatively small cost.

I-Iow these and other advantages can be obtained in connection with my invention will appear from my description hereinafter of a preferred form and embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary and somewhat diagrammatic side view illustrating the practical application of my invention in connection with the well-known duplex type of automatic stoker and with r shaker mechanism in part of the well-known Franklin powerl grate shaker type. In this figure, the firing equipment or appara tus appears in side elevation, and the fire box of a locomotive to which it is applied appears in vertical longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic rear view, in elevation, of the locomotive and its firing equipment, some parts being broken away or in vertical mid-section as indicated by the line 2-2 in Fig. 3, and the parts at the uppery end of one of the inclined elevator casings being also broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of certain operating parts, some of which are 1921. Serial No. 479,219.

broken away or in horizontal mid-section as indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

F1g. 4.- is a fragmentary detail view, in elevation, and on a larger scale, illustrating part of the grate-shaking mechanism shown 1n Fig. 2, certain parts being in section.

Fig. 5 is a detail View illustrating certain parts of the grate-shaking mechanism and'their order of arrangement along a shaft on which most of them are mounted. As shown, these varous parts are individually turned 90 from their working ositions, into parallelism with the plane o the paper.

Fig. 6 is a somewhat fragmentary plan. 65 view illustrating features of the usual coalfeeding mechanism of the duplex stoker and their relation to various special parts illustrated in the other igures,-certain structural parts being removed and others broken away or in section to expose various mechanical parts to View.

As already stated, the Stoker mechanism hereshown is of the well known duplex type, so that no more than a general description thereof is required. Only the more important parts located on the locomotive are shown, the tender and the arts thereon being omitted for the sake o clearness.

In this duplex stoker, the coal-feeding l mechanism comprises a rotary conveyor screw 10 extending from the tender to the locomotive through a trough or conduit (not shown), and delivering the coal (in a suitably ground or powdered state) into a receptacle or hopper 11 beneath the deck or cab floor 12. The coal-feed mechanism also comprises elevators in the form of rotary conveyor screws 13 extending from said hopper 11 up through the cab floor, in 00 divergently inclined casings 14, and delivering to distributor tubes 15 that project into the locomotive fire box 16 through openings 17 in its rear wall,-one at either side of, and rather above, the usual furnace door 18. The coal is continually blown into the lire box through the tubes 15 by steam, and A is thus distributed over the grate 20 in a`y suitably uniform manner,-the supply of steam .t0 the tubes 15 being regulable to give 100 a proper distribution of the amount of coal required under different operating conditions of the locomotive.

The fuel feed` mechanism com rising the conveyor 10 and the elevators 13 1s operated or driven by power from an automatic actuator 22 in the form offa double-acting reciprocating automatic steam engine, mounted beneath the deck 12 and, as shown, below and to the rear of the fire box 16 of the locomotive boiler, tol one side of the hopper 11. The piston rod 23 of the actuator engine 22 extends and reciprocates or vibrates transversely of the locomotive, and to it is attached a reciprcatiig slide bar 24 with toothed racks 25 and 26 on its rear and upper sides, respectively. This rack bar 24, therefore, also extends transversely of the locomotive, at the rear ofthe boiler, beneath the cab floor 12.

With the rack 25 mesh helical gears 27 fixed on the lower ends of the inclined shafts 28 of the elevator screws 13, so that these shafts receive a vibratory rotation as the rack bar 24 reciprocates,-i. e., the shafts oscillate, or revolve first in one direction and then in the other. The elevator screws 13 are actuated by the shafts 28 through single-acting pawl mechanisms 29, so that the motion of the screws is an intermittent, or periodic, unidirectional ste by step rotation such as to raise'the coal. hus the coal is delivered to the distributors 15 in definite periodic charges corresponding in amount to the rotary step of the screws, and in frequency to the rate of reciprocation of the actuator 22. The pawl mechanisms that actuate the screws 13 can be adjusted individually to vary the rotary step of the screws (or even thrown out of act-ion altogether, so as to stop the feeding of fuel to one or both distributor tubes 15) by means indicated at 30; and the rate of reciprocation of the actuator 22 can be varied (or the actuator stopped) by valve means comprehensively indicated at 33.

With the rack 26 meshes a gear 34 fixed on a rotary drive shaft 35 which extends fore and aft of the locomotive, and ultimately connects with the tender conveyor or screw 10 through a single-acting pawl mechanism 36. The oscillatoryl shaft l35 thus drives the screw 10 with an intermittent, or periodic, unidirectional step by step rotation. The pawl mechanism in question can be adjusted to var the rotary step of the conve or 10 and t e amount of the periodic c arges delivered to the hopper 11 in proper correspondence with the operation of the elevators 13,-or even thrown out of action altogether, so as to stop the feeding of fuel to the hopper. The frequency of delivery to the hopper 11 isvaried (or delivery stopped entirely) by the control 33 of the reciprocation of the actuator 22 described above.

It will be seen, therefore, that the actuator 22 is the source of power for the entire fuel feed mechanism, and that this actuator has vibratory actuating or drive connection with that mechanism: through the oscillatory rotary members 27, 28 to the elevators 13; through the oscillatory rotary members 34, 35 to the tender conveyor; and through the reciprocating rack bar membel 24 to both elevators and to the tender conveyor too, the racks 25 and 26 of the member 24 meshing with the respective gears 27, 27 and 34 that drive the elevators 13 and the tender conveyor, as already described.

Passing, now, from the fuel-feeding mechanism to the grate-shaking mechanism, it will be seen that the grate 20 in the fire box 16 comprises a number of transverse gratebars 40 which may be mounted to rock back and forth in the usual manner. These bars-40 are interconnected in groups or sections 41, 42, etc., as usual, (only two such sections appearing) by links 45 pivoted at 46 to depending lugs 47 on the bars. Rods 48 pivoted to the links 45 at 49 connect the `sections 4,1, 42, etc., to the lower arms of corresponding two-arm oscillatory grate-levers 50, 51, etc., which are arranged in pairs at either side of the fire box 16 and are free to turn about an oscillatory shaker shaft 55 extending transversely of the locomotive at the rear of the fire box.

As shown in Fig. 4, the shaker shaft 55'is mounted in short square-holed journalsleeves 56 whose bearings are in brackets 57 secured to the rear wall of the boiler, and the levers 50, 51 are journalled on these same sleeves 56. Between each pair of grate-levers 50, 51, etc., and their sleeves 56 are upward-extending oscillatory arms 60, 61 mounted on the shaft 55 in direct antiturning engagement with it. To the arm 60 (and likewise to the arm 61) are hinged latch yoke plates 62 adapted to be swung down to engage the upper arms of the levers 50, 51, or swung up out of engagement. (As shown, the righthand latch 62 is engaged with the lever 50, and the lefthand latch is swung up into inactive position.) The latches 62 are securely held in either of these positions by engagement of spring. pressed plungers 63 (mounted in a crosspiece 64 on the arm 60) with the squared sides of their pintle-lugs 65.

By proper manipulation of the latches 62, it will be seen, the grate sections 41, 42, etc., can be selectively connected with the oscillatory shaft 55 and shaken singly, in fore and aft or right and left pairs, or all together, etc., as desired. At the same time, the bars 40 of the grate sections not being shaken can be locked in their normal horizontal or upright positions by means of locking-yokes 66 (similar to the latches 62) pivoted to the brackets 57 beside each of the grate-levers 50, 51 etc. o

lor the purpose of operatively co'nnectlng the grate-shaking mechanism just described with the actuator 22, a bevel gear 70 is fixed on the forward end of the fore and aft shaft by which the conveyor 10 is driven. This oscillatory gear 70 meshes with a somewhat larger bevel gear 71, which is loose on the end of a short transverse stub-shaft 72 fixed in a part of the casing 73 that encloses 'the rack bar 24 and various associated operating parts. (In practice, of course, the gears 70 and 71 are also enclosed.) At the back of the gear 71 is a coaxial shaker drive member in the form of a crank-disk 75, adapted to turn with the gear about an axis transverse of the locomotive. With the ordinary duplex stoker mechanism and the relative sizes of the gears 70 and 71 shown, the disc 75 will oscillate or vibrate back and forth about l of a revolution The crankpin 76 of the disc 75 is connected by a link rod 77 to the de ending arm 78 of a rocker member 80 at t e rear of the boiler, fulcrumed at 79. On the shaker-shaft 55, directly in front of the rocker 80, is fixed a rocker member 81, similar to the rocker 80, but without any depending arm. As the rocker 80 oscillates or vibrates back and forth, its ends strike and actuate the ends of the rocker 81, and thus oscillate or vibrate the shaker shaft 55 and rock the grate bars 40.

The amplitude of movement of the rocker 481 and the shaking of the grate bars can be regulated by varying the relative positions of the fulcra and 79 of the rockers 81 and 80. For this purpose, the fulcrum 79 is mounted and supported on the lower arm on a bell-crank lever 82, which is itself fulcrumed and supported on a bracket 83 attached to the rear end of the boiler fire box 16, above the cab oor 12. The

Aother arm of the lever 82 is forked and engaged between arcuate shoulders on a nutblock 84 threaded on an upright screw shaft i 85, mounted in bearings in a housing 86 in the cab and provided with an operating handwheel 87. By shifting the fulcrum 79 Itoward or from the fulcrum 55, it will'be seen, the rocking of the ate-20 can be regulated and made as'vio ent or as gentle as desired, or even stopped altogether,-since the rocker 80 can be varied from continual contact with the rocker 81 as the one extreme to never striln'ng it at all as the other.

Like that afforded by the latches 62, the regulation of the grate shaking action b means of the rockers 80 and 81 is indepen ent of the fuel feed mechanism,-except, of course, as aifectedby the general regulation of the actuator 22 by its control and regulating means 33.

For the purpose of preventing injury or breakage in case the grate 20 (or its connections to the disc 75) should become jammed or blocked from any cause the connection between disc 75 and gear 71 is preferably a yielding or break-down one. As shown, there aref radially extending transverse Vtriangular ridges 90 on the back of the gear 71 and corresponding radially extending triangular grooves 91 in the disc 75. 75 is pressed against the gear 71 by a helical compression spring 92 acting between the bottom of a recess in the disc (that accommodates the spring) and the head of a pin 93 (screwed into the end of the shaft 72) on which the disc is mounted. Normally, the ridges 90 remain seated and engaged in the grooves 91 and constrain the disc 75 to oscillate with the gear 71; but if the resistance of the gear becomes excessive, the ridges ride out of the grooves at every oscillation of the gear,-until the rocker 80 is shifted 4out of actuating distance from the rocker 81, the actuator 22 or the shaft 35 stopped, or the obstruction removed.

I claim:

1. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising the combination of fuel feed mechanism, grate-shaking mechanism, av

common automatic actuator for said fuel feed and grate-shaking mechanisms, and a breakdown operating connection from said actuator to said grate-shaking mechanism, with means for regulating the action of said grate-shaking mechanism independently of said fuel feed mechanism.

2. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism; grate-shaking mechanism; a common automatic actuator for said fuel feed and grate-shaking mechanisms; and means for regulating the action of said grate-shaking mechanism independently of said fuel feed mechanism comprising oscillatory actuating and actuated rocker members and means operable from the locomotive cab for varying the relative positions of the fulcra of said rocker members.

3. Automatic locomotive firing equipment -comprising the combination of fuel feed mechanism, shaking grate mechanism, and a common automatic actuator for said fuel feed and `shaking grate mechanisms, with means for operating the shaking grate mechanism from said actuator comprising a shaker drive member with. axis transverse of the locomotive, an oscillatory rocker member operativelyconnected with said shaker drive member, another oscillatory rocker member operatively connected to the grate and fulcrumed at the rear of the boiler for actuation by the first-mentioned rocker member, and means for varying the relative positions Aof said rocker members to regulate the shaking of the grate. v

4. Automatic locomotive firing equipment The disk comprising the combination of fuel feed mechanism, shaking grate mechanism, a common automatic actuator for said fuel feed and shaking grate mechanisms, with means for operating the shaking grate mechanism from said actuator comprising a shaker drive member with axis transverse of the locomotive, an oscillatory rocker member having an operative `.connection to said shaker drive member, another oscillatory rocker member operatively connected to the grate and fulcrumed at the rear of the boiler in front of the first-mentioned rocker member, for actuation thereby, and means for shifting the fulcrum of said first-mentioned rocker member toward or from the other to regulate the shaking of the grate.

5. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism; an automatic actuator with connection to said fuel feed mechanism reciprocating transversely of the locomotive; grateshaking mechanism; and means for actuating said grate-shaking mechanismffrom the aforesaid transverse connection, including `an oscillatory break-down connection.

6. Automatic locomotive ring equipment comprising, in combination,y fuel feed mechanism including a drive shaft extending fore and aft of the locomotive; a member with axis transverse of the locomotive geared to said drive shaft; and means for transmitting motion from said member to the locomotive grate to shake the latter, comprising oscillatory actuating and actuated rocker members and means for varying the relative positions of the axes of said rocker members to regulate the shaking of the grate.

7. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism; an automatic actuator with connection to said fuel feed mechanism extending transversely of the locomotive at the rear of the boiler beneath the cab floor; a shaker drive member With axis transverse of the locomotive operated bythe aforesaid transverse connection; and means for .transmitting motion from said shaker drive member to the locomotive grate to shake the latter comprising oscillatory actuating and actuated rocker members and meansI operable from the cab for varying the relative positions of the fulcra of said rocker members to regulate the shaking of the grate.

8. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism; grate "shaking mechanism; and a common automatic actuator for said fuel feed and grate-shaking mechanisms, with connection to one of them reciprocating transversely of the locomotive. Y

9. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism and an actuator therefor with a connection thereto reciprocating transversely of and the locomotive; and means for transmitting vibratory motion from said connection to the locomotive grate to shake the latter.

10. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism including an oscillatory drive shaft extending fore and aft of the locomotive; a member with axis transverse of the locomotive geared to said drive shaft, and means for transmitting motion fromgsaid member to the locomotive grate to shake the latter.

11. Automatic locomotive firin equipment comprising, in combination, fuel feed mechanism; an automatic actuator with connection to said fuel feed mechanism reciprocating transversely of the locomotive at the rear of the boiler lbeneath theA cab Iioor; a shaker drive vmember with axis transverse of the locomotive operated by the aforesaid transverse connection; and means for transmitting motion from said shaker drive member to the locomotive grate to shake the latter. l

l2. Automatic locomotive firin equipment comprising, in combination, el feed mechanism; an automatic actuator with connection to said fuel feed mechanism extending transversely of the locomotive atthe rear of the boiler beneath the cab floor; a shaking grate mechanism, and a shaker drive member with axis transverse of the locomotive operated by the aforesaid transverse connection; and means for transmitting motion from said shakerdrive member to the locomotive grate to shake the latter comprising /an oscillatory rocker member at the rear of the boiler with its fulcrum mounted thereon operativel connected to the grate, and an oso' atory rocker member for actuating the rocker aforesaidl supported from the boiler and operatively connected with the aforesaid shaker drive member.

13. Automatic locomotive iirin equipment comprising, in combination, vvel feed mechanism including an elevator; an automatic actuator with connection to said elevator through a reciprocating rack bar; and means for transmitting vibratory' motion from said connection to the locomotive grate to shake the latter.

14. Automatic locomotive firing equipment comprising,nin combination, fuel feed mechanism including a tender conveyor; an oscillatory drive connection for said conveyor; and means for. transmitting vibratory motion from said drive connection to the locomotive grate to shake the latter.

15. In combination, a firebox, a plurality of grate sectionswithin said rebox, stoker mechanism including a motor for supplying fuel to said firebox, and mechanism including a movable member for operating said sections from said motor, and also including means for selectively disconnecting said sections from said movable member.

16. In combination, a rebox, a grate comprising independently movable sections, a grate moving member, means for selectively detachably connecting said sections to said member whereby said sections may be operated either independently or simultaneously, and means for operating said member.

17. In combination, a rebox, a sectional grate therefor, Stoker operating mechanism, a memberv reciprocated by said mechanism, and means for selectively detachably connecting said grate sections to said member for operating said sections.

In testimony whereof I `have hereunto si ed my name. y gn JOHN L. MOHUN. 2()` 

